The Executive Director of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Zabaida Umar, has revealed that 179 people in 15 states across Nigeria have lost their lives due to flood disasters since the onset of the 2024 rainy season.
This information was disclosed during a fact-finding visit by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, to the agency on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to Umar, Jigawa State recorded the highest number of fatalities with 34 deaths, followed by Bayelsa and Kano with 25 deaths each. Bauchi recorded 23 deaths, Zamfara 13, Taraba 11, and Sokoto and Yobe each reported 10 deaths. Other states affected include Adamawa, with seven deaths, Katsina and Niger with five deaths each, and Borno, Ebonyi, Kaduna, and Nasarawa with two, two, two, and one death, respectively.
The agency has been actively supporting disaster victims with food interventions, farm inputs, relief items, and resettlement efforts for those displaced by floods. Umar highlighted that NEMA has carried out disaster assessments in nearly all the states, coordinating responses to 158 emergencies, assisting 118,337 individuals, and rescuing 4,706 people.
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Umar also reported that floods this year have impacted 137 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across 28 states, affecting 532,600 individuals, displacing 208,655 people, damaging 80,049 houses, injuring 2,016 people, and affecting 107,652 hectares of farmland.
During the visit, Gbajabiamila emphasized the importance of prioritizing flood prevention, urging state governments to allocate more resources for flood disaster mitigation to prevent avoidable loss of lives and property. He called for greater state involvement in disaster management, suggesting that legislative adjustments may be necessary to ensure states are more proactive in their responses.
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Gbajabiamila also challenged NEMA’s management to explore alternative funding sources to fulfill its broad mandate, noting that flooding is a recurrent issue in Nigeria. He stressed the need for innovative funding solutions beyond regular budgetary allocations, acknowledging the limitations of government resources.